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Topic: Are all Corny Kegs the same size? (Read 17855 times)

I am looking to move into Kegs, and I already have the luxury of a fridge… so I am looking to see what the best layout of Kegs in the fridge is. What I have found is that my shelves are 24 inches deep and 28 inches wide. My thought is to put thee kegs on their side across the fridge shelf.

However, in looking through the internet, I have seen two different sizes for corny kegs listed: One is 9” dia, 23” tall. The other is 25” tall and 8.5” dia in dimension. Based on limited number of samples, it appears that Pin Lock kegs are 9x23 consistently, and Ball Lock kegs are 8.5x25 consistently.

So I am looking to find out if the dimension difference is based on keg style, or if the dimensions are somewhat random. Also, if Pin/Ball locks are different dimensions, but consistent … how hard is it to get/find parts for pin lock vs ball lock? (The majority of places I see online have ball lock parts)

As far as I know, each keg type (pin & ball lock) has its own uniform size. This would, of course, be for unmodified kegs. If someone took a ball lock keg and swapped the fittings to pin lock, you'd have a slightly shorter/squatter pin lock keg.

I think many people prefer ball lock but I have seen a few online stores selling a full line of parts for pin lock kegs.

All the dip tubes I've seen draw from either the center of the keg, or directly below the out post. Either way, you'll need to fabricate a custom dip tube to be able to dispense the whole keg while it's on its side.

Hold on a second, you cannot interchange pins and balls but on a select few types of kegs. See my page for thread information and it should be clear which are interchangeable www.ipass.net/mpdixon

That is good to know, however, after being passed a few links supplying pinlock parts, I think I will be good to go. Since I am starting from scratch, it appears to me as long as I stick with one style, it really does not matter.

As long as I can find the parts, is there any reason NOT to use pinlock kegs? As near as I can tell, the difference is simply the mechanics involved in latching the disconnects and the aforementioned dimensions of the kegs...beer coming out and ability to hold pressure should not be any different as far as I can tell. (Feel free to correct my naivety as needed!)

Pin-locks are shorter and wider. The gas and beer disconnects are impossible to confuse. There is only one thread size for all pin-locks. They are a little better built. The diptubes go straight down the side which I prefer to the center diptube on most ball-locks.

But it is easy to interchange ball-lock and pin-lock kegs if you use the flare fittings. No need to limit yourself.